Wingman
"Wingman" is the third episode of season 4, and the 71st produced hour of Person of Interest. It originally aired on October 7, 2014. Synopsis Finch recruits Fusco to stick close to the latest POI, a professional “wingman,” but learning how to approach women soon becomes the least of his worries. Meanwhile, Reese must find a way to play by the rules at his new day job as the Machine sends Finch and Root on a mysterious errand. Origin of the Title A wingman is a person who supports another in a challenging situation. The term originates with military aviation, and refers to the pilot(s) who fly alongside and slightly back from the lead plane in a two-plane "wedge" formation. It has come to mean a man who helps or supports a reluctant friend in a difficult social situation, such as Andre Cooper does for Fusco. It is often said that a wingman "has your back" in social settings. Main Plot Points The events in this episode are in Machine point of view. * Person of Interest: Andre Cooper, a professional "wingman" with a shady past who helps socially awkward men. * Fusco must go undercover as a socially inept insurance salesman in need of some help when the team's newest number is Andre Cooper, a professional "wingman." * Andre's old dockworker pals, who have an illegal side business, come looking for Andre, who they believe reported them to the police. * Shaw serves as Fusco's (other) wingman during the investigation, and must rescue Fusco and Andre when Andre's past catches up with him. * Reese is taken to task for excessive shootings by the 8th Precinct's new captain, and must stay in character to get on her good side. * Root and Finch go on a "scavenger hunt" that leads them to a cache of weapons and two duffel bags full of cash, and nets the NYPD a group of Latvian mobsters. Episode Notes * This episode is the first in Machine POV since Samaritan came online. Unlike the first two episodes, the Machine is once again sending numbers to Finch. * Reese comments his access to police video is, "Thanks to Big Brother." This is another reference to the surveillance state; in this case, to the all seeing Hitleresque Big Brother from the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. * Shaw refers to a diet of "ramen and Two Buck Chuck". Two Buck Chuck is a range of inexpensive wine sold by California-based Trader Joe's Markets under the Charles Shaw label. The nickname refers to the $1.99/bottle price for the wine, which is made in bulk in California's Central Valley wine growing region. * Captain Moreno complains the precinct's CompStat numbers are down. CompStat is the NYPD's internal accountability system, which uses multiple sources of data to evaluate the efficacy of the NYPD. Production Notes * In interviews relating to the episode, Jonathan Nolan commented on the need for an occasional lighter episode, such as this, designed to give the audience a break during a period of heavier story-telling. * The bus Reese boards in the opening sequence is a hop-on/hop-off tour bus run by one of several tour companies. These busses are common in large cities with significant numbers of tourists. The scene on the bus was filmed in front of Bergdorf Goodman, a high-end department store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Bloopers and Continuity Errors * Root had enough time to shoot several criminals who already had their weapons drawn. Music *"Whatta Man" by Salt-n-Pepa feat. En Vogue (Lionel and Andre meet at the bar) *"Too Marvelous for Words" by Frank Sinatra (Lionel at the party after his make-over) Trivia *Shaw wears a little black dress by Diane von Fuerstenberg and "Tayler" d'Orsay heels by Manolo Blahnik. *The fake purse Reese confiscated resembles a Birkin bag by Hermès, named in honor of English actress Jane Birkin. Original purses are made to order and sold at around $10,000. *Finch's alias "Mr. Egret" is another bird name. *Fusco mentioned that he broke up with Rhonda - his date in . *The Anti-tank missile that Root and Harold Finch acquire is later used in . Quotes * "It's hot as hell out here, figure I'd save us all some time." (Reese, to Fusco) * "I've spent the past two decades learning how to color inside the lines. May take me a second or two to figure it out." (Reese, to Fusco) * "Ramen and two buck chuck for the rest of the month." (Shaw, to Finch) * "Holy crap. That is yesterday's suit." (Shaw) * "I think I know who's gonna kill our guy. Me." (Fusco, to Shaw) * "Nice of you to show up, partner." (Fusco, to Reese) "I was about to close my third case of the day. Wanted to make sure you didn't die before I had a chance to brag about it." (Reese, to Fusco) Media References es:Wingman it:Wingman Category:Season 4 Category:Episodes Category:Season 4 Episodes